Creating 3D Software boxes.

[ayodahunsi]

Some of the best software is completely imaginery...

You really did this in Xtreme.. really cool... Would like to do something exactly, but i dont have the experience. I wish there was a tutorial on the steps to follow

[Big Frank]

You can create a frame and then use Xtreme's Perspective Envelope (Mold Tool) to snap flat panels onto the frame.

Mold?

[WolfMoonHP]

I must be missing something in this...

When Gary Priester said you "could create a frame," I looked up frames in the Xtreme help files, and all I found was information about animation.

Is there another kind of frame that I'm not getting, or is this an animation function.

I'm easily confused...

[ankhor]

I will like to be able to create 3D boxes like any of these:

http://www.divelements.co.uk/net/controls/

Is there any tutorial i can see that shows how to do this using Xara Xtreme.

Thanks,
Ayo.

Note: The boxes also have a reflection at the bottom.

Mine doesn`t, it just shows the box how to make 3d boxes like the one shown

[WolfMoonHP]

OK, Ankhor...

Where is your tutorial?

Great-looking box, by the way...

[Intbel]

OK, Ankhor...
Where is your tutorial?

It's inside the box. Innit.

[remi]

Sorry, no tutorial, but a picture of a legendary Software box >11 years old.

Remi

[tomcat]

I did this picture in Xara only.
Just made three rectangles, put the pictures and the text on it, moulded it, added some colors - that's it. Not perfect, sure, but not much work in any way.

[BobInce]

Definitely draw each side of the box straight-on first. If you want to look less artificial add a little almost-transparent fractal plasma 'dirt map' so it's not all perfect-looking.

Then render each to a high-resolution bitmap and use the mould tool to position them. Add almost-transparent white and black gradients using the same shapes as the moulds to add depth, and optionally some subtle shiny bits (near-transparent white elliptical transparency). Add high/lowlights and imperfections around the edge joins, and any shadows/reflections you need.

Then, because Xara isn't good at anti-aliasing moulded bitmaps, supersample the result (save at eg. 2x, 4x the final resolution you want, and scale down in a bitmap editor). If the box if strongly receding, you can even unfocus the back end a little by making a copy with blur live-effect and gradient-transparency fading it over the original.

Note that even with all the little hacks you can do to make it look less artificial, it's still a pretty clichéd effect these days. Whilst it may have worked effectively to make one's product look more "real" a few years ago, by now it may be tainted by association with all those software sites (some outright fraudulent) with obviously-fake boxes.

[ankhor]

Sorry, no tutorial, but a picture of a legendary Software box >11 years old.

Remi

Hmm they have kinda the same swirl as some soapboxes I saw before in here.